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The cake was found on a shelf in a hut at Cape Adare used by the Northern Party in 1911, which is when the researchers believe it was left there.

Meek said: "With just two weeks to go on the conservation of the Cape Adare artefacts, finding such a perfectly preserved fruitcake among the last handful of unidentified and severely corroded tins was quite a surprise."

It is believed the cake belonged to the Northern Party, which split off from Captain Scott's main party, because documents show they took the popular brand on the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition between 1910 and 1913.

Scott and his team, who had left the Northern Party at Cape Adare, reached the South Pole in 1912, 34 days after their Norwegian rivals, but the entire party died on their return journey.

Those in the Northern Party suffered their own troubles. They moved from Cape Adare about 400km south to Cape Evans in 1912, where they suffered from frostbite and hunger and were forced to eat seal meat.

The huts at Cape Adare were built by Norwegian Carten Borchgrevink's expedition in 1899, and were the first buildings constructing in Antarctica. Photo / Antarctic Heritage Trust